DWP will 'directly contact' 120,000 people to claim £3,900 boost - are you eligible?

The Department for Work and Pension () is “directly contacting” around 120,000 pensioner households in receipt of Housing Benefit who may be eligible for Pension Credit.

Pension Credit is worth around £3,900 a year and there has been a huge increase in applications of 152% since the Labour Government announced in July that will only be issued to those over state pension age and claiming means-tested , such as Pension Credit.

But an estimated 800,000 people are still missing out on Pension Credit - and therefore, also their chance to still get a Winter Fuel Payment over the next few months. Winter Fuel Payments were previously available to everyone over state pension age - regardless of whether they claim benefits or not.

Independent MP Rebecca Long Bailey asked what steps DWP is taking to identify pensioner households who may be eligible for Pension Credit, but have not yet claimed. In a , the Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds explained the DWP can “identify and target” potentially eligible households using its own data.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

She said: “Building on last year’s ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial, the Department will be directly contacting approximately 120,000 pensioner households who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit. We can identify and target these households using DWP’s Housing Benefit data.

“In order to maximise the take-up of Pension Credit, we have been running an extensive national campaign since September on a range of channels, including print and broadcast media to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim. The campaign targets potential pension-age customers, as well as friends and family who can encourage and support them to apply.”

Ms Reynolds added: “We continue to engage with a range of external partners who can help promote Pension Credit through their own channels and networks. We are also asking local authorities to support our Pension Credit campaign - the Secretary of State and the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to all local authorities in August. Many already undertake their own initiatives to identify eligible households and promote take-up; and over 160 local authorities have responded positively to our ‘call for action’.”

The DWP Minister also explained that it is “not currently possible to accurately identify people who may be entitled to Pension Credit just from DWP data” - only through Housing Benefit. She said: “Like all means-tested benefits, a person’s eligibility for Pension Credit and the amount they may get depends on their specific financial and personal household circumstances, information which DWP does not have.”

READ MORE: